Approximately 10.1 million working-age EU citizens now live in a Member State other than their country of citizenship, representing 3.9% of the EU’s working-age population, according to the European Commission’s 2025 Annual Report on Intra-EU Labour Mobility, published in April 2026.
The data reveals that labor mobility has become a structural feature of Europe’s workforce, with Germany hosting the largest share at 3.2 million EU migrants—roughly one-third of the total. Spain, Switzerland, Italy and France follow as key destinations, while Luxembourg leads in relative terms with EU migrants comprising 40% of its population.
Mobility patterns are evolving significantly. The proportion of mobile citizens living in their host country for less than ten years declined from 53% in 2012 to 43% in 2024, indicating longer-term career moves. Additionally, mobility is no longer youth-dominated—1.27 million EU citizens aged 40-70 relocated within the past decade.
Many Europeans now build careers spanning multiple countries and pension systems, with 759,000 working-age citizens returning home in 2023, demonstrating circular mobility patterns. As workers increasingly navigate multi-country careers, the demand for streamlined cross-border pension tracking systems will likely intensify across European labor markets.
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